Letter from Abraham Lincoln to the teacher of his son Bashny.Net

Read this letter, riddled with paternal love and care for the child. This is the really important things that we often forget, especially in the learning process:

"... I know he will learn that not all people are fair, not all sincere. But teach him besides that for every scoundrel there is a hero that every selfish politician there is a faithful leader.
Teach him that if there is an enemy, and then there is one. This will take time, I know, but if you can, teach him that one earned dollar more valuable than five found. Teach him to be able to play, and enjoy the victory.
If you can, take him away from envy, train secretly laughing softly. Let him learn early that the triumph over bullies and braggarts easiest. If you can, teach him interested in books ...
And let it also free time, so he could ponder the eternal mystery: birds in the sky, bees in the sun and flowers on a green hillside.
When he is at school, teach him that much more honorable to fail than to cheat ... Teach him to trust his own ideas, even if someone tells him that he is mistaken ... Teach him to be gentle with gentle people and brutally violent.
Try to give my son the strength not to follow the crowd when everyone abut the winning side ... Teach him to listen to all the people, but also teach him everything that he hears, consider the angle of the truth and to select only the good.
If you can, teach him to laugh in sorrow ... Teach him there is no shame in tears. Teach him to laugh at cynics and to beware of excessive sweetness.
Teach him to sell his brains and muscle strength at the highest price, but never sell nor heart nor soul.
Teach him not to listen to howling crowd, but to stand and fight if it feels right.
Treat him gently, but without excessive tenderness, because only the test of fire makes high quality steel. Let him have the courage to be intolerant [everything bad] ... Let him have the patience to be brave.
Teach him always to have high confidence in himself, because then he will always have a high faith in humanity.
This is not an easy thing, but look what you can do ... He is such a good, my son! »

Abraham Lincoln, 1855